


Euphoria

by shiroiori



Category: Homestuck
Genre: JohnDave Week, JohnDave Week 2018, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 10:03:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15140720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiroiori/pseuds/shiroiori
Summary: How does one say no to children? Dave never learned.JohnDave Week Day 1: Urban Fantasy or Cosmic Horror





	Euphoria

Magic was simple, it was soft.

Dave was nowhere near as talented in the arts as his sister, but magic was still a soothing, cool balm to the harshness of the world, a refuge in the darkest storm. It sparked off his fingers and balanced him back out, and even as tired as he was, it rejuvinated him. He'd known better than to push himself for the day, but he couldn't help it--even single-draw tarot used a small amount of energy.

This was what he got for setting up in a park for the day, for doing Celtic crosses for children. Their happiness had rolled off them in waves, and with magic making him quietly hypomanic, he'd been unable to say 'okay, that's it'. Rose had scolded him, but he'd seen the smile she was hiding as she helped him gather his supplies. He'd needed to cleanse his cards--children didn't understand 'don't touch'--but he was happy.

That's what he found himself doing now, seated in front of the largest window in his and John's apartment--shuffle, hold, spread, sort. Rinse and repeat. Each card had touched his hands no less than twenty times now, and they were beginning to feel more like normal. The rain outside picked up, and Dave was very, very glad he'd left the park when he did.

He felt more than heard John walk up behind him, and Dave sighed as John settled behind him and looped his arms around his waist. The floor wasn't the most comfortable place for this, but he needed space for his cards. John shifted so his legs were on either side of Dave, burying his face in his neck.

"Long day?" he asked, and Dave nodded. John hummed, pressing a soft kiss to the nape of his neck. "You always do this. You know you could charge more, right? It would at least slow the flow of business a little so you didn't come home so tired."

Dave shrugged, gingerly tapping his cards against his hand to straighten the pile. John squeezed him softly, concern lacing his words. "You're so tired you're nonverbal." It didn't matter, but couldn't get that across without speaking. John sighed, the sound melting seamlessly into something soft and unhappy.

Dave sat upright completely and leaned back, back, until John was sitting upright and Dave had his head lolled back on his shoulder. He was startled by how insistantly John kissed him then, pressing a smile to his lips.

"At least take a nap?" John asked when he pulled away, and Dave was entirely too starry-eyed to tell him no. When he pulled out of John's arms, it was so he could put his cards back in their pouch, already lovingly annointed with clary sage and rosemary. John stood and offered Dave his hand, and Dave took it gladly, drifting close to press his face against John's shoulder once he was upright.

It was easy to tumble into the beddoom of their tiny apartment, walking through the criss-cross of wires on the floor. John fished the phone out of Dave's pocket and plugged it up, nudging him toward the dresser for a change of clothes. Dave got as far as clean boxers before he had to stop, ditching his dirty clothes on the floor so he could flop onto the bed.

He groaned into the sheets and let himself sit still for a moment before shifting to rest his head on his pillow. He stuffed his deck under it--Rose always rolled her eyes when he told her she slept atop it, but it worked for him.

It took John a moment to crawl under the covers, but when he did, it was with a laptop and a smile. Dave grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and tugged gently, and John laughed at him softly. "Hold on, hold on," he murmured, and took a few moments to turn his laptop on. When he finally settled against the pillows, Dave pressed into his space and rested his head on his shoulder, melting against John's side as he curled his arm around him.

It wasn't always like this--sometimes John was the one tired. Every full moon, without fail, he would return home with dirt on his face and bags under his eyes, and Dave would patiently pull him into the bathroom and hold him upright under the spray of the shower so they wouldn't get their sheets dirty. Still, Dave felt selfish--his magical fatigue was self-inflicted. John's lycanthropy was not.

Almost as if sensing where Dave's thoughts had gone (or, more likely, just seeing how his expression had changed), John squeezed him. "You alright in there?" he asked, and Dave nodded. 

He didn't recognize the cartoon John had chosen for the evening, but it didn't matter--it wasn't for Dave, after all, whose eyelids were getting heavier by the minute. The warmth of the wolf was always with John, and it was lulling Dave to sleep better than any herbal mixture. Surrounded in warmth, he let himself fall.

The stars were out full-force when he woke, John snoring beside him with the laptop still on his chest. He whined when Dave pulled away to set the laptop on the floor beside the bed, hands grabbing at air. Dave returned with a glass of water and his phone. He set the glass on the bedside table, and couldn't help but smile when John dragged him close after he slipped back under the covers.

His phone let him know it was early in the morning, and he snorted softly. Dusk--witching hours. Appropriate enough, he supposed, and wished he'd managed to sleep a little longer. It wouldn't so to get up now and make noise, after all--the pissy sun witch in the apartment below theirs was well-reknowned for his fury when awoken, and John waking up, looking pitifully tired, was a punishment in and of itself. Dave resigned himself to scrolling until he was drowsy again and was very, very glad to be alive.

**Author's Note:**

> I really liked writing this? If I hadn't decided on limiting myself to 1000 words for the first day, I might've done more with it. So brace for more of this, maybe.


End file.
